About Me

Rabbi Chaim Coffman

Rabbi Coffman has helped people from all across the spectrum to prepare themselves properly for Orthodox Conversion to Judaism.
His students admire his vast knowledge and appreciate his warm, personal attention and endearing sense of humor.

Followers

Welcome to Rabbi Chaim Coffman's Blog!

I would like to thank you for visiting my blog, Beyond Orthodox Conversion to Judaism.

The conversion process can be a lengthy and daunting one to say the least and I want you to know that I am here to help you through it.

I have been teaching newcomers to Judaism for over a decade and over the last few years I have seen that conversion candidates really lack the support and knowledge they need to navigate the conversion process and successfully integrate into the Orthodox Jewish community.

I created my mentorship program in order to help make this whole experience as smooth and as painless as possible! (Can't do much about the growing pains, though ;)

Feel free to get to know me a little through the posts on my blog and visit the mentorship and syllabus page if you are interested in possible joining us.

I sincerely wish you all the best in your search for truth and spiritual growth.

Looking forward to meeting you,Chaim Coffman

My Rebbe, Rav Moshe Sternbuch

In case you were wondering why I have all of these articles written by Rav Moshe Sternbuch, he is my Rebbe, and one of the gedolei hador (greatest Rabbis of our generation).

Rav Sternbuch fully endorses me and supports my mentorship program.

He is the address for all of my halachic or hashkafic (practical and philosophical) questions that I or my students may have.

The articles are based on his weekly talks on the Torah portion that the Rav gives in Jerusalem in his kollel. As a member of the kollel I get first dibbs on the photocopies and I type them up for my blog so you can all benefit from the Rav's erudition and insight.

After learning for many years, changing one's life, moving to a new community and finally finishing the conversion process and becoming a full-fledged Jew, how could that conversion be overturned? Was the conversion valid in the first place? Why could this happen?

Once a conversion candidate interviews with a beis din (rabbinical court) and they agree to work with them, the candidate is then off and running. Most beis din's will give the candidate books to read witha syllabus and hopefully set them up with a mentor that will be able to guide them.

The conversion candidate will be expected to follow the syllabus and learn the material and start implementing what halachos they learn in the areas of Shabbos, Yom Tov, Prayer, Kshrus and Blessings, After being in the community for at least a year and depending on the candidates level of learning and implementation, if the beis din feels the conversion candidate is ready then the beis din will convert them. If the beis din does not feel the candidate is ready, then it will take longer.

The day finally comes and the candidate is informed by the beis din that they are finished and ready for the mikveh to become a full-fledged Jew. After the conversion is done, this new Jew will continue learning and growing spiritually as was done before the conversion. If everything si done according to halacha, then there should be no problems after the conversion right?

While one is in the conversion process, one of the most important things is to make sure that the beis din you will go to will be recognized around the world. How does a convert candidate find out about these batei din? They will either find out through their mentor or their sponsoring rabbi.

Unfortunately what can happen is that either the new convert even many years later starts to slack off in mitzvah observance or gives up mitzvah observance altogether. The question that will then arise at that point is what happened during their conversion? Was it really valid in the first place? Who was the beis din that converted them?

This is how in one way a conversion can be questioned retroactively. Secondly, the beis din that did the conversion could have had some halachic issues when they did the conversion in the first place. this could have happened if one of the rabbis on the bies din is suspect or years later the beis din could have pmeritted things that maybe they should not have...

Another possible thing that could happen is that all beis din's do not have the same standards. While they should have and probably should coordinate between themselves, that is often not the case. This means that there may be different standards among the beis din's and may bring up questions about a person's conversion.

In any case, the situation is not an easy one and even if there is an issue, each candidate should be judged on theri own merit and not be judged by which beis din they came from since each case is different in and of themselves.

“The rich
shall give no more, and the poor shall give no less than half a shekel, with
which to give the offering to Hashem, to atone for your souls” (30:15)

The
rich man's large donation to charity is no dearer in Hashem's eyes than the
poor man's small one, everything rather depends on the degree of devotion and
self-sacrifice displayed by the donor; there is no justification for the rich
man to feel superior to the poor man just because of the size of his donation.

Every
person had to donate an identical half-shekel amount to finance the korbonos
to teach us that it is not the
amount of a donation that counts, and also to emphasize that the resulting atonement was the result of the joint
effort of the entire nation. For the same reason the amount specified was
half a shekel, to indicate that each individual’s private donation could not be
complete without being complemented by the donations of all the other
individuals comprising the entire nation. Only then would be there be a
complete shekel.

However,
the Mishna at the beginning of Masseches Shekolim says that an
announcement was made on the first of Adar about bringing shekolim
and also about kilayim. Since the shekolim, as we said, symbolize
unity between all members of the nation, the Mishna counterbalances this by
mentioning kilayim in the same breath in order to remind us that
although unity is indispensable, the holy may not be intermingled with the
profane, and we therefore cannot unite with epikrosim who detach
themselves from the rest of the nation, because such "unity" would
constitute kilayim (a forbidden mixture).

The
Baal Haflo’oh, who was the rov of Frankfurt, refused to count irreligious
people as part of a minyan. When he was challenged about this policy in
the light of the medrash that encourages sinners to be part of our
public prayers, he replied that he had no objection to their joining our
prayers once a kosher minyan had been formed, the point being that if the
non-observant approach us seeking to make a connection, we must of course
welcome them with open arms, but as long as they remain antagonistic towards
us, we must maintain our distance.

Following in the footsteps of
the LEVIYIM

“Whoever is
for Hashem, let him come to me! And all the sons of Levi gathered around him” (32:26)

The
Brisker Rov zt”l noted that it seems
strange that only the Leviyim volunteered to participate in executing the death
sentence on those who had sinned. Surely the whole nation had now witnessed
that Moshe Rabbeinu was alive and well, so that the whole raison d'être for the
golden calf had dissipated. Why, then, did only the Leviyim answer Moshe’s
call?

This
teaches us, he replied, that if someone doubts Hakodosh Boruch Hu it is
difficult for him to detach itself from his erroneous beliefs even if he is
presented with proof of the false nature of his views. He added that people
think that when moshiach comes everyone will become righteous overnight,
but this is not so. We have to prepare ourselves for moshiach by
connecting completely to Hashem. Without such a connection it will be difficult
to dissociate ourselves completely from heretical thoughts even once moshiach
comes.

He
also commented that the entire Jewish nation believed in Hashem, but only the
Leviyim answered Moshe’s call, because only they believed in Hashem exclusively,
only they had had no desire to join the erev rav, to have anything to do
with them, or to approve their actions in their hearts. As Chazal say: anyone
who acknowledges idol worship, it is as if he denies the entire Torah.

Similarly,
in our times, if someone seeks to unite with anti-Torah elements, it is as if
he denies the entire Torah. We must not delude ourselves into thinking that
only bnei yeshiva are at stake. As much as they wax eloquent about the Torah,
in reality they wish to uproot it by enacting laws such as those pertaining to the
secularization of marriages and conversions.

Our
very existence in this country is supernatural, and we have been witness to
miracles both during peacetime and, in particular, in times of war, but we
cannot take this for granted. We must beseech Hashem that He will continue to
protect us in His mercy. In order for us to have clean hands in this respect,
we must continue to resist any talk of compromises and dissociate ourselves
completely from anti-Torah elements and their supporters.

TWO SHABOSOS

“Only
keep My Shabossos” (33:13)

The
Torah mentions Shabossos in the plural. One Shabbos refers to the
fact that we refrain from performing melochos, whereas the second Shabbos
refers to the positive, active kedushah inherent in Shabbos based
on which we strive to create an otherworldly experience, and to recharge our
spiritual batteries, thereby sanctifying ourselves and this holiest day. Kedushah
in this context means learning Torah, saying divrei Torah, singing zemiros
and conveying fundamental messages to our children at the Shabbos table.

Chazal
(Masseches Shabos 118b) tell us that if we all keep two Shabossos
properly we will be redeemed immediately. These two shabossos may be
interpreted as referring to the Shabos of refraining from melochos and
the Shabbos of actively creating the requisite kedushah.

neshomo
yeseiro

“And
on the seventh day He ceased and rested [vayinofosh]” (33:17)

The
gemara (Masseches Beitza 16a) expounds this as a comment made by
a person when Shabbos starts: vay ovdo nefesh: “woe is to my soul,
which has departed from me”. The gemara says this in the context of the neshomo
yeseiro, the “additional soul” with which we are endowed and which departs
on motzoay shabbos, so how can we understand this exposition in view of
the fact that the possuk appears to be talking about Shabbos itself
not motzoay shabbos?

The
Imrei Emes zt”l says that already
upon the commencement of Shabbos a person should bear in mind that his neshomo
yeseiro will only be with him for the duration of the Shabbos and he
should therefore utilize it to the utmost for as long as he has it by refraining
from forbidden or idle talk and endeavoring to infuse the holy day with kedusha.

Alternatively,
when Shabbos starts a person should take stock of whether he has given his neshomo
its due during the week that has elapsed. If he has not, he bewails his neglect
of it, and undertakes to dedicate more time during the upcoming week to
learning Torahand generally catering to the needs of his neshomo.

clarity in hindsight

“You
will see My back but My face shall not be seen” (33:23)

We
have an annual Day of Judgment every Rosh Hashono and are also judged
after we pass away, but it is only on the Final Day of Judgment, which will
follow the chevlei moshiach and techias hamesim, that Hashem will
reveal to us the reasons for our national and personal suffering, and for the
rewards that have been allotted in this world and the Next World.

For
now we cannot see Hashem’s “face”, we cannot fathom the depths of His judgment,
only after the Final Day of Judgment will we be capable of understanding the
justice of all His deeds, only then will we “see” His “back”, only then will we
understand in retrospect everything that happened to us.

beware of anger

“You shall
not make molten gods for yourself. The Festival of Matzos you shall keep” (34:17-18).

Rav Meshulam
Igra zt”l was a famous Gaon who died
in 1801. His shamash told the following story to the Chasam Sofer zt”l, who succeeded Rav Meshulam to the
Pressburg rabbinate.

Rav Meshulam
was very particular about personally handling the entire process of matzo production
right from the first stage of ketziro (reaping). For example, he checked
each wheat stalk himself to ensure that there was no suspicion of chimutz (fermentation).
One erev Pesach Rav Meshulam left the house early to go to shul before Yom Tov started, andthe maid found three matzos on
the table. These were the matzos which Rav Meshulam had so painstakingly
prepared for the Seder, but thinking that they were simple matzos
she took them to make a dish with them.

Soon after
that the Rebbetzen noticed that her husband’s matzos were no longer
there, and she asked the maid if she knew where they were. When the maid told
her what she had done with them, the Rebbetzen became very upset with her, and
told her that her husband had spent so much time and effort on these matzos
and he would now not have any matzos for the Seder. The Rebbetzen was in
such a state that she fainted. A doctor was summoned and he told everybody not
to worry, because the Rebbetzen would be all right.

When Rav
Meshulam came home he was surprised to find a large crowd gathered in his
house, and he became worried that something had happened to the Rebbetzen. When
he was told about the preceding events, there was no change to his calm
demeanor, and he did not say anything, but merely asked where the maid was. It
turned out that she had become so frightened that she had run away, and had to
be summoned. The rov told her that she must not worry, because what she had
done had not been her fault, and he would just borrow three matzos from the
neighbors. These matzos, he added, were perfectly kosher. The matzos and
all the chumros I invested in them, he concluded, would not be worth
anything if I now became angry because of them.

The Chasam
Sofer was very impressed with this story, and was amazed at how Rav Meshulam reacted to his maid’s conduct, even though he
heard about the incident suddenly and without any warning.

According to
the plain meaning “You shall not make molten gods for yourself” is a
prohibition against idol worship, but the Zohar learns that it is an admonition
against becoming angry, so these pesukim may be read as follows: you
shall keep the Festival of Matzos meticulously and employ as many chumros as possible to ensure their kashrus limehadrin, but do not do so at the expense of
becoming angry!

“Trepidation
has taken hold of me, because of the wicked who have forsaken [ozvei] Your
law” (Tehillim 119:53). The Vilna Gaon zt”l reads ozvei
as ozrei: we are consumed with trepidation when the wicked seek to assist
the Torah. Our erring brethren are currently claiming that the Torah is
wonderful and unique, and that it merely has to be amended somewhat to make it acceptable
to the whole nation. For example, we have to be flexible about the laws of
conversion and marriage, so as to take into account the large numbers of
halachik non-Jews, which were deliberately brought in from the former Soviet
Union. Let us accept everybody with open arms, they say, without the need for
them to undertake observance of mitzvos.

“The
proud have had me greatly in derision; yet I have not turned aside from your Torah.
I have remembered Your laws which are of old, O Hashem, and have comforted
myself” (Ibid 119:51-52). These people are deriding us for sticking to
the Torah only, but we do not turn aside one iota from it. This is not the
first time in our history that we face such challenges, but we find comfort in
the Torah itself. As we said last week, The
Torah is kept in the kodesh
hakodoshim as a reminder that we
cannot fathom its holiness, and any attempts to tamper with it are likely to
have dire consequences.

The Mizrachi (as they
used to be known) are now showing their true face. Already many decades ago Rav
Chaim Brisker zt”l saw through them. Once one of their rabbonim was supposed to talk in Brisk, but Rav Chaim was opposed to it. People
could not understand him. The person seemed to be learned and have fine middos, butRav Chaim compared the divrei Torah uttered by this person to kosher food cooked in a treif pot.

Similarly,
in the early days of the State, his son, the Brisker Rov zt”l, was vehemently opposed to a United Religious Front between
the Aguda and the Mizrachi, even though other rabbonim praised the idea
as one that would be likely to lead to harmony between the religious factions.

They cloak their
warped outlook with a veneer of religiosity, but in reality they want to uproot
religion. Now that they are adopting an open anti-Torah platform and aligning
themselves with an extreme anti-Torah party, Rav Chaim’s foresight is evident
for all to see.

Our response to all
this is to beseech Hashem, who has presented us with this trial, that he will
save us in His great mercy, but we must also educate our students about the
essence of Torah. Rabbomim and roshei yeshiva must give the bochurimchizuk, and encourage them to pray properly, and
they should also emphasize how dear they are in the eyes of Hashem, how the
continued existence of the whole nation depends on them, and how vital it is that
Torah remains the predominant feature of our lives and not a fleeting one.

The Chazon Ish zt”l
already said that we are more afraid of the "candies" offered by
anti-Torah elements than by their decrees. Our duty is to remain steadfast in
the face of various temptations being offered to bochurim and avreichim
to lure them away from their learning. We must realize that nothing is
sweeter than Torah, and any "candies" may appear to be sweet, but
their end is bitter. In this period of parashas Zochor and Purim we must
counteract the forces of Amolek by reinforcing our emuno and strengthening
our hasmodo in learning.

May
we merit to welcome moshiach zidkeinu speedily and without suffering.

We would have
thought that the purpose of mitzvos such as giving charity or donating
objects to hekdesh is fulfilled irrespective of the motives of the
donor, so what is the meaning of the midrash quoted by Rashi? Furthermore,
the commentators wonder about the Torah’s phraseology: why does it say "have them take for Me a
donation” instead of "have them give Me a donation"?

When we
observe the mitzvos ofHashem and donate money for the sake of
His honor, we become worthy of receiving an abundance of blessings and success.
That is why we "take" this Divine bounty in return for our donations,
and the purer our intentions upon voluntarily giving away our possessions for
the sake of Hashem, the greater will be the divine reward.

Rav Sternbuch
was once speaking to a wealthy person and encouraging him to make a donation to
poor talmidei chachomim. The
person responded that he preferred to make a donation for a building
that would commemorate his name for ever. Rav Sternbuch replied by citing Rashi
here. Hashem wants us to give charity for His sake. If we do so, He will provide
us with a heavenly and eternal "monument and memorial better than sons and
daughters” and better than any memorial plaque.

Terumo from money

“…
a donation [terumo]… (ibid)

Separating terumo
is not only a mitzvah in its own right, but we thereby also
"fix" the remaining produce. The possuk refers to terumo
to tell us that the mitzvah of tzedoko may be compared to the act
of separating terumo from produce, since when we make a donation to the mikdosh
or charity we thereby fix and elevate the money remaining in our possession, and
can thereafter legitimately use it as a divine gift. Conversely, when we fail
to set aside appropriate amounts to charity our possessions acquire a status
equivalent to produce which has not been tithed.

Someone who
has internalized the fact that when he gives away "his" possessions,
he is not parting with anything belonging to himself, but rather transferring
an object actually due to the recipient, for example when he makes a donation
to an oni who is entitled to his ma’aser kesofim, will do so with
a totally different attitude and will, in turn, enjoy manifold blessings.

PURE donations

“… from every
person whose heart inspires him to generosity, you shall take My donation” (ibid)

The Zohar hakodosh
on parashas vayakhel says that before the sin of the golden calf
donations to the mishkan were accepted also from the erev rav, as
it says "from every person", whereas after the sin their donations
were no longer accepted, as it says: "Moshe called the whole community of
the bnay yisroel to assemble”, and not "every person".

It may be
assumed that even before the incident of the golden calf the erev rav didnot behave impeccably, but as long as they did not act conspicuously and remained
subservient to the Jewish nation it was permitted to take donations from them.
However, once they actively transgressed and incited the rest of the nation to
do so, their donations were no longer acceptable.

Even when his
yeshiva was in great financial trouble, Rav Moshe Schneider zt”l refused to accept donations from mechalelei Shabbos (people
that don't keep shabbos) arguing that
this would have a detrimental effect on the spiritual level of the students,
and that, to a large extent, the students’ success depended on the purity of
the financial resources supporting the yeshiva, because when we accept
donations from resho’im this increases their power of evil and has
a negative impact on the whole Yeshiva. Instead, the Grodzinski Bakery, which
was owned by religious Jews, agreed to donate all the bread that had not been
sold by the end of the day to the yeshiva.

On another
occasion it became public knowledge that a religious Jew had obtained his
wealth through fraudulent means. When Rav Schneider heard this he was adamant
that no donations would be accepted from this person either. Rav Schneider did
not budge from his principles, and in the end even his opponents had to acknowledge
that he was a man of truth.

Reward based on effort

“And
this is the donation that you shall take from them: gold, silver, and copper… Shoham
stones and filling stones for the ephod and for the choshen” (25:3, 7)

The Ohr
Hachayim hakodosh wonders why the Shoham stones, which are more valuable
than gold and silver, are not mentioned first.Hereplies that these precious stones had been
brought to the Jews miraculously in clouds, and since they had been attained
without any effort or financial sacrifice specifically for the purpose of being
used in the mishkon, the Torah saw fit to enumerate the gold
and silver first, because since they had been obtained from the Egyptians and
the owners donated them with self-sacrifice they were dearer in Hashem’s eyes.

Similarly, the self-sacrifice of a poor man
who donates one dollar to charity may be dearer in Hashem's eyes than the deed
of a wealthy person who donates 1000 dollars effortlessly. It says “from every
person whose heart inspires him to generosity” to emphasize that the jov,
generosity and self-sacrifice accompanying the act of giving are the main
components of the mitzvah of tzedoko.

The
same holds true with regard to any mitzvah. Hashem investigates the hidden
recesses of every person’s heart and mind to determine the extent to which he
has had to overcome difficulties in order to succeed in his Torah learning or observance
of mitzvos. The genuine importance of each yid depends on the extent to which he has been successful in overcoming such
trials.

outreach

“And
they shall make Me a sanctuary and I will dwell in their midst” (25:8)

Nothing is
more elevated than Hashem, and yet He still "lowered Himself" so that
the shechino could kivyochol dwell in the mishkon. We too
should learn from this by way of a kal vachomer not to find it beneath
ourselves to interact with those who have not been fortunate enough to receive a
Torah education or with people who do not comport themselves the way they
should despite having received a good education. Instead of denigrating them we
should endeavor to bring them closer to avodas Hashem.

talmidei chachomim

“And
you shall overlay it with pure gold; from inside and from outside you shall
overlay it” (25:11)

The gemara
(Masseches Yomo 72b) says that this possuk teaches us that a talmid
chachom whose external wisdom
belies his character (literally: whose inside is not as his outside) is
not a real talmid chachom. However,
since the oron itself was made
of wood and covered with gold, so that its interior was also not the same as
its exterior, this gemara seems difficult to understand.

Someone who
knows that people consider him to be a talmid chachom is obligated to sanctify the divine name by
behaving in the way described by the Rambam (Hilchos Dei’os, beginning
of chapter 5). All his private and public actions as well as his speech will be
in conformity with the elevated status expected of him. People expect him to
behave in a superior manner, symbolized by the external gold covering, and also
to be replete with yiras shomayim and midos tovos, symbolized by
the internal gold covering.

However, in his private thoughts he lives with
the awareness that he is nothing more than wood, since his deeds, speech and
thoughts are still in need of much improvement in light of his true potential
for greatness. Such a person is indeed following the path of a true talmid chachom:
althoughhis
internal dialogue with the Creator is “wooden”, and reflects a genuine anovo, his external behavior, which is witnessed
by onlookers, is appropriately gilded. His inside is like his outside in the
sense that both of them are in conformity with the path a genuine talmid chachom
issupposed to follow.

who supports who?

“And
you shall bring the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, to carry the
ark with them” (25:15)

Chazal tell us
(Masseches Sosto 35a) that notwithstanding the poles, the oron miraculously carried its bearers on its own.
This teaches us that although it appears as if the donors for Torah
causes support the Torah, in reality the reverse is the case: the Torah
supports them, and their donation is the catalyst for receiving blessings from Hakodosh
Boruch Hu.

Similarly, the
yisroel appears to be supporting the kohen with terumos
and ma’asros, but Hashem instructed the kohanim to blessthe nation in order to teach us that all the
abundance enjoyed by the rest of the nation is in fact received via the kohanim.

Nowadays, too,
bnei Torah enjoy the same status as kohanim (see the Rambam at
the end of Hilchos Shmita Veyovel) and those who support them are in
reality supported by the bnei Torah. If our erring brethren realized
that their material welfare stems from the lomdei Torah we would not be
in the situation we are currently in.

In any case,
it is clear that instead of priding himself for his generosity, a person who
makes donations to Torah causes should rather be grateful for the opportunities
presented to him for receiving Hashem’s bounty.

Tampering with the Torah

“And
you shall place the ark cover over the Ark of the Testimony in the Holy of
Holies” (26:34)

It seems
difficult to understand how the luchos inside the oron could have served as a testimony when they
were stored in the kodesh hakodoshim, which everyone except the kohen godol on Yom Kippur was forbidden to enter.

Throughout our history there have been people
who have argued that the Torah has to be adapted to the times. Sometimes such people
really appreciate and honor the Torah, and feel that by adapting it to the
needs of their generation they are protecting it, so to speak. However, their
actions lead to very grave changes in such areas as the laws of conversion, chupa and kidushin.

The Torah is kept in the kodesh hakodoshim as a reminder that we cannot begin to fathom its holiness, and any
attempts to tamper with it are likely to have dire consequences.

This Rashi may
be understood in light of the Vilna Gaon’s explanation of the statement
"if you have toiled and found, then believe”. He says that this does not
mean that a person enjoys the fruits of his labor, as is the case in other
areas, but rather that even after a person has toiled in Torah he can only
acquire a proper understanding of it the way one finds a lost object [meziah
– yogato umozoso], by way of a divine gift.

On the other
hand, a precondition for meriting such siyata dishmaya is to first toil
in one’s studies. That is why the menorah, which symbolizes the Torah and mitzvos,
first had to be made of hammered work, and, then, after all the toiling,
was constructed by itself.

A yeshiva bochur upon first entering his yeshiva, or a ba’al teshuva who
sees a talmid chachom, may
become disheartened at the magnitude of the task facing them. How can they
possibly begin to master the whole Torah? The answer is that if they utilize
their abilities to the utmost, that is all that Hashem asks for, and He will
reward them with corresponding siyata dishmaya to complete the
task.